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Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Smartboard Technology

Like most others have said, I agree that Smartboards seem to be a great addition to today's classrooms. Many students are intrigued by them because they are so accustomed to using technology in their daily lives, and they find learning more fun when it is more interactive. In my opinion, this is by far the most significant advantage of the Smartboard. Looking back on my own education, I feel as though Smartboards would have enhanced my learning experience by providing more opportunities to interact and take part in what I learned in class. Especially at the elementary level, I remember learning things best when the activity was fun and interesting. With all of the interactive activities that the Smartboard has to offer, I feel as though it would definitely make learning more fun for younger students.

However, as I read this article I couldn't help but think of the potential downfalls of using Smartboards. As others have mentioned, one of the major drawbacks is that only one person can write on the board at a time, which may slow down certain activities. I would also be hesitant while using it with younger elementary students because the abundance of activities and options available may be more distracting than helpful if they are not utilized effectively. However, if teachers are trained properly on how to use the Smartboard and if they do not rely solely on it for their instruction, I believe the Smartboard can be a very beneficial addition to the classroom.

1 comment:

kwitzel said...

I totally agree! I think the Smartboard has both good and bad things about it. I agree it is great how it gets the students involved but you also have a great point when you mentioned the distraction of it. I just noticed how both you and I related using smart board to El Ed only (probably because that is what we are both going into) but it made me think, how beneficial would it really be in the upper middle school and high school classes? At that point the childish excitement has most like faded. I would also have to agree with your last statement, with the proper training and really getting the most out of it, I could see where it would be beneficial. At this point I personally still do not understand a whole lot, which may have influenced view.